Share your family’s heritage with future generations by researching your roots and creating a family tree. Join Tulsa City-County Library’s Genealogy Center in July at its annual Family History Month series featuring a variety of programs for new genealogy researchers as well as lifetime enthusiasts.
The series also features three days of workshops, July 26-28, presented by renowned national speaker and certified genealogist Mark Lowe. Come and discover why Lowe is so popular with Tulsa researchers as he shares valuable tips and helpful resources to aid you in solving difficult research problems. Lowe’s presentations are sponsored by the Tulsa Library Trust.
All Family History Month programs are free and will be held at the Hardesty Regional Library, 8316 E. 93rd St.
“Start Your Research @ the Library,” July 1, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Computer Lab. Join Lisa Hansen, Genealogy Center associate, for an overview of the many helpful services the library offers to family history researchers. Registration is required.
“An Overview of the Civil War Records on Fold3,” July 10, 6:30-8 p.m., Pecan Room. Experienced genealogy Civil War researcher Hugh Keen gives an in-depth look at the Civil War records found in Fold3, including service records, pensions and much more.
“Beginning Genealogy,” July 12, 9:30 a.m.-noon, Frossard Auditorium. Learn how to begin your family research with Kathy Huber, Genealogy Center managing librarian.
“Women Finding Their Way: Tulsa in the 1920s,” July 12, 1:30-4 p.m., Frossard Auditorium. Genealogist Jae Jaeger uses media methods to introduce historic women of Tulsa that many have yet to meet. The times were exciting as women pressed forward after winning suffrage and began boldly, sometimes politically, to address the unmet needs of the Magic Empire citizens. In addition to Tulsa stories, Jaeger will introduce the research methods that take the story “off the page” to unknown details. Join the journey that reveals more than a glance at the women of our past. This presentation complements Tulsa City-County Library’s “One Book, One Tulsa” communitywide reading initiative.
“Explore Ancestry’s Collection,” July 14, 1:30-3:30 p.m., Computer Lab. Learn to use some of Ancestry’s underutilized collections that may help your genealogy research. We will highlight directories, maps, plus military, school and tax records. Registration is required.
“The Deep Web: Using the Library’s Other Databases for Genealogy Research,” July 16, 6:30-8 p.m., Computer Lab. You may be familiar with our genealogy databases, but did you know the library has an entire list of other databases that can help you with your genealogy research? In this class, Carissa Kellerby, Genealogy Center associate, will give you an overview of these nongenealogy specific databases and show you how to use them to further your research. Registration is required.
“Gold Nuggets: Those Overlooked Sources in the Genealogy Collection,” July 19, 9:30-11 a.m., Frossard Auditorium. With the many online resources available to genealogists, many times print sources are overlooked. Join Kathy Huber, Genealogy Center managing librarian, for an overview of important printed resources available in the genealogy collection that may help solve that difficult research problem.
“Hidden Treasures: Genealogy Vertical Files,” July 19, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Frossard Auditorium. The genealogy collection has even more resources than those you can see in the library catalog. Join Carissa Kellerby, Genealogy Center associate, as she delves deep into the hidden treasures found in the vertical files collection. Learn what kinds of resources you will find and how to easily search them.
“Preserving Family Records: From Expensive to Cheap Methods – You Decide,” July 19, 2-3:30 p.m., Frossard Auditorium. Join Bill Welge, certified archivist and director of the American Indian Culture and Preservation Office for the Oklahoma Historical Society, as he demonstrates how to preserve family documents, letters, photographs and film/video. He will cover methods that range from inexpensive to elaborate in cost. Learn how you can preserve your family records for future generations.
“Solving Google Mysteries: Skills Training workshop for Family Research,” July 22, 9:30-11:30 a.m., Computer Lab. Genealogist Jae Jaeger will teach 10 mighty tools needed to unlock Google and maximize its potential when using it for family research. Learn how to narrow a search and expand findings, prevent useless responses, create a paperless file for findings, decrease paper production, and use Google images and books. A take-home worksheet for your search will be provided. Bring your laptop or notebook, if possible, to familiarize yourself with your own computer environment. Registration is required.
"Settling America: Her Historic Land Distribution," July 24, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Pecan Room. Historic legislation governed the way land was distributed in America. Learn how this legislation opened up America's land for settlement and follow your ancestor's westward migration.
“Making Those Early Census Records Talk to You,” July 26, 9:30-10:30 a.m., Frossard Auditorium. Stop avoiding those pre-1850 census records. Turn those 1’s and 0’s into clues and lively pictures of your family. Certified genealogist Mark Lowe will show you how to find your ancestors in these records even without individual names.
“Cemeteries as a Genealogical Resource,” July 26, 10:45-11:45 a.m., Frossard Auditorium. We often overlook obvious clues as we walk through a cemetery. Join Mark Lowe and enjoy this look at ways to learn more from our ancestors through gravestones and cemeteries, whether town or country.
“Over There and Back: WWI Records That Do Survive,” July 26, 1:30-2:30 p.m., Frossard Auditorium. Mark Lowe will show how to find valuable state and local records that document WWI service (including females). Also look at some other federal sources.
“Road Crews and Jury Selection: Finding an Ancestor Without a Census,” July 26, 2:45-3:45 p.m., Frossard Auditorium. Our ancestors were expected to be good citizens. Court minutes can identify where and when our ancestors participated in the community. Learn about their appropriate conduct or when they left town in this workshop presented by Mark Lowe.
“Using State Archives and Libraries From Afar: Digging Deeper – Getting Records Away From Home,” July 27, 1:30-4:30 p.m., Frossard Auditorium. Mark Lowe will share all the wonderful records that exist for genealogists researching across the U.S. today in the state-level research facilities. Discover tools to accomplish long-distance research and learn to develop a plan to solve your research problems. Plus develop a plan to obtain the records you need.
“Using Library Resources to Find Ancestors,” July 28, either 9:30 a.m.-noon, Frossard Auditorium, or 1:30-4 p.m., Maple Room. Mark Lowe will solve a research problem using resources in the Genealogy Center’s collection. Follow the pathway as we discover and detail real ancestors through published library sources combined with the Genealogy Center’s online resources. Understand how you can follow the same paths and begin to develop your plans.
“Free Genealogy Websites,” July 29, 6:30-8 p.m., Computer Lab. Join Liz Walker, Genealogy Center associate, and discover useful free genealogy websites. Registration is required.
After attending these programs, stop by the Genealogy Center to get started on your research. Located on the second floor of the Hardesty Regional Library, the center has one of the largest genealogical collections in Oklahoma. Plus, it is designated as an official FamilySearch Center, enabling it to borrow resources from the largest genealogy collection in the world – the Family History Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
For more information about Family History Month programming or the Genealogy Center, go to http://www.tulsalibrary.org/genealogy-center or call 918-549-7691.